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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. spring — of water
  4. spring — the season
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. race — a contest
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. mate — to breed
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. mate — a partner
  12. race — the arms race
  13. race — humankind
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. mate — a friend
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. stem — to come from
  20. shower — to wash
  21. shower — rain
  22. mine — for digging
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. spring — a coil

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com